Beep, Beep – Young Potential coming through

Tuesday January 9th 2018, the official AMS Career Day. Or: a way to kick-off the new year with a bang – AMS style. To reflect on our ideal job and career, AMS organised this Career Day for all full-time master students to help prepare us for when we enter the labor market.

The day started off rather early, and while some made it out of bed easier than others, no exceptions were being made as for how your morning started. When arriving at AMS, everyone had to pass by three different tables; three tables standing for three timeslots, wherein you could choose three of six possible workshops. After you’d coloured your wrist with three brand new bracelets (each color standing for one of the workshops), the day could really begin.

First off came a group intervision per master. Every master program drew back to its own classroom to reflect on the first semester and to come to a consensus: what had they done right this semester and did they need to keep doing, what should they stop doing and what should they start doing. Post-its got written, posters got filled, maybe some discussions were held, and before we knew it, it was time for the first coffee break of the day, after which the first workshops took place.

The total of workshops to choose from were six, each focusing on a different matter. In the workshop on ‘Assessment Centers’, you could learn all about preparing yourself for this important step of many application processes. In the end, everyone also got to take home a nice book on assessment centers.

Other workshops included one on Networking Skills, were you learned to talk to new people and how to build your network, and a workshop on Career Coaching, given by AMS LCDT coach and HR consultant Lesley Vanleke. ORMIT provided us with a workshop on Personal Branding, while Wouter Gheysen showed us all the tips and trips of using LinkedIn. For the international students, there was also an informative and insightful workshop on Work Permits.

After the first two workshops and a (slightly shorter) lunch break, it was time to all gather together again in the foyer, where Bart De Bondt, Chief Happiness Officer, gave us a Keynote session. We shaked our limbs loose in an dance routine improvised by Bart himself, laughed at pictures of little kids doing slightly questionable things and fought our way through the other students to grab one of Bart’s books, but most of all, we were left inspired by the things he showed us and the stories he told us.

After our last workshop of the day, the day was concluded by a speech of our dean, Prof. Dr. Paul Matthyssens, and each master program presented their community projects, some seemingly more prepared than others. To conclude the day, we toasted on the New Year.

So, here’s to you, AMS. Here’s to you, full-time master students. Here’s to another semester full of laughter, joy and happiness. Here’s to us.